The Dead Have Never Died Edward C. Randall

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1 The Dead Have Never Died Edward C. Randall FOREWORD I have had strange experiences in my Psychic investigations during the last twenty years. Refusing to be limited by accepted laws, I have devoted my thought to conditions prevailing beyond what is generally termed the material, and by combining and blending the mental and vital, with the tangible or physical forces, I have been able to have speech with those long thought dead. As a result I have found an unknown country about and beyond this Earth, and I would not go from this world of men without leaving a record of what I have learned. We are but custodians of knowledge as of wealth, and it is the duty of every one to give to others that which he has acquired, whenever it will add to human happiness. There are certain people born with what is known as "psychic" force who, when scientifically developed, become instruments by the aid of which communication is established between the two worlds. Such was Emily S. French. She was a woman over 80 years of age at the time of her death. Above the average in intelligence, she devoted her life to helping others, and as a result her character was spiritualized and refined so that only good could come within her environment. I was indeed fortunate in my association with her. Even with such help, however, it required many years of work and experiment to obtain the exact conditions whereby satisfactory speech could be had with inhabitants of this unknown country, and from them to secure direct information of the conditions prevailing there. This, in a measure, I have accomplished. That life continues beyond the grave, Lombroso, Richet, Sir William Crookes, T. W. Stanford, William T. Stead, Sir Oliver Lodge, - all Psychic Scientists, - and of late Sir Conan Doyle, have proved beyond question. My efforts have been to discover by what law survival becomes possible; to learn something of the death change, the character of individual life as it continues, and the conditions prevailing beyond the earth-plane. If the information that I have obtained is reliable, and if my deductions are correct, a discovery has been made that takes from the human heart the awful fear of death. No subject in the world is so important as this, and none is less understood. In this world-beyond there are men and women just as here. Their bodies, Etheric in character, are composed of matter; therefore, they have form, feature, and expression, neither less nor more individual than when they lived the earth-life. They have homes as tangible to them as our homes are to us, composed of Etheric material just as our homes are made of physical substances, and in those homes the family relation is ultimately continued. They labor to increase their knowledge, and under the great prevailing law in force there, enrich themselves by helping others. These propositions, far beyond human experiences, are not only hard to explain but are difficult to grasp. In the chapters that follow, I have tried to make the facts so plain that all may comprehend them. I have faithfully described some of my experiences, and given in substance the data as presented to me. Are my deductions warranted? 1

2 This research has been a source of great pleasure and profit to me. In the beginning I looked upon the death change with horror. I recall the casket containing the mortal remains of my mother lowered into a grave on a bleak April day, the pitiless rain, the biting winds, the lowering clouds. After the frozen earth had fallen into the open grave, I, a boy, walked alone, and then and there resolved that I would never rest content until I had solved the problem there presented and come to know, - if it was given man to learn, - something of that great change. Whether I have succeeded or not you must judge. I have, I think, demonstrated that nothing in Nature is hidden from man; there is no problem that cannot be solved; there is no condition that cannot be understood, provided that we labor long and earnestly for the goal desired. Again one word to those who mourn. There is no death; there are no dead. Those whom we love and who loved us, in obedience to the great law of evolution, have simply progressed to a new plane of existence. Our eyes no longer behold them, our hands and lips no longer touch them, but their eyes ' behold and their hands touch us, though we feel them not. They walk with us, know our trials, help us by their mental suggestions, and comfort us by tender, loving thoughts. Those who live in the Etheric or Mental Plane are no less real to me than those with whom I walk from day today. I have submitted this manuscript to a large number of advanced thinkers both in America and in Europe, and the general criticism has been that it is so in advance of experience, so different from the old teachings and beliefs, that few will grasp or understand the new propositions presented. This is without doubt true, but the facts as I have gathered them cannot be changed; truth is infinite. Volumes have been written by the world's foremost writers to prove the possibility of communication between this plane and the next, though few have been privileged to enjoy direct and independent speech to the extent that I have. Those who read the pages that I have written must assume that speech is possible and that I have had the experiences narrated. I do not attempt to enter the elementary field; others have covered that branch. I have tried to transmit facts as they have been given me, and I expect many to accept them because they are in accordance with nature's law and appeal to reason. It is a great privilege to be evolved out of the mass of life, to obtain individuality with all its possibilities not by a miracle, but through positive law. But that privilege brings responsibilities, among them the necessity of living a clean life, of developing character to the utmost, of doing something to make others happy, and of making the world a little better because we have lived a day within its confines. These things are not difficult to accomplish if we are unselfish. To the new thought, to the progress of the world, each may give something. Great truths come from the obscure. The night brings forth the stars. EDWARD C. RANDALL. 2

4 CHAPTER XXV RATIONAL DEDUCTIONS 98 CHAPTER XXVI A TRIBUTE 101 END 103 CHAPTER I VOICES OF THE LIVING DEAD THE suggestion that the dead have never died, when so little is known of that great change, is beyond the comprehension of the average mind. The fact that under scientific conditions those in the afterlife have had speech with us in the earth-life taxes credulity, but such is the fact. Sir William Crookes has had the experience of communicating with the dead and has written concerning it. Stead's bureau in London, working with Mrs. Weidt, an American psychic, has done so with great freedom. For many years Daniel Bailey of Buffalo was able with the aid of Mrs. Swaine to get the direct or independent voice; he did a great work and has published the results. I mention these instances to show that I am not the first who has been able to obtain direct speech with those in the next life. Thousands in other ways have obtained messages from the great beyond, but only on rare occasions have conditions been such that the dead could speak audibly. The independent voice is unusual, but when heard, it leaves nothing to conjecture. "How is it possible," one asks, "to talk with dead people?" 4

5 I confess that such a proposition is beyond the comprehension of many, and that a mere statement on the subject means nothing to the average individual, for one can appreciate only those things which he has experienced or of which he has knowledge. It is only by understanding that the spirit world is a part of this world, that it is here and about us, that it is material, that all life force finds expression only in the physical, and that people beyond the grave still inhabit their etheric bodies that one can appreciate the fact that speech with the living dead is possible. Even with such an understanding, it is necessary to create certain scientific conditions if one would actually converse with those of the spirit world. The conditions permitting speech are very delicate. The atmosphere at times interferes with results. For example, when the air is agitated before a storm, it is impossible to do this work; but on clear nights, when the air is quiet, the manifestations are beyond power of description. Absolute darkness is necessary to enable me to hear the direct speech of those people who, present in my home in their own spirit bodies, use their own tongues, and make their own voice vibrations. To do this work requires the aid of a person possessed of vital forces out of the ordinary. The group of people in the next life working with me utilized the vital force of Mrs. Emily S. French in conjunction with their own force, and created a new condition in which the vibrations were slow. It was then possible for the spirits to so clothe their organs of speech that their words sounded in our atmosphere. If we accept the hypothesis that spirit people have bodies, and that they are around and about us in an invisible world, it does not require any stretch of imagination to appreciate the possibility of speaking with those beyond the earth-plane. When we appreciate the fundamental fact that the Universe is matter and that life itself is matter, new possibilities open to us. "Tell us of the conditions that enable you to speak," I asked one who spoke to us. "There are in our group," the spirit replied, "seven people, - all expert in the handling of the electric and magnetic forces, and when you and the psychic, Mrs. French, meet, the vital force that emanates from her personality is gathered up. We also take physical emanations-substancesfrom you and the others with you, while we contribute to the mass a certain spirit force. Now, that force which we gather and distribute, is just as material as any substance that you would gather for any purpose; it is simply higher in vibration. We clothe the organs of respiration of the spirit who is to speak, so that his voice will sound in your atmosphere, and when this condition is brought about, it is just as natural for a spirit as it is for you. You then have what is known as the direct or independent voice, that is, the voice of a spirit speaking as in earthlife." Since mankind came up out of savagery, the great problem has been and ever will be: What is the ultimate end? What, if anything, waits on the other side of death's mysterious door? What happens when the hour strikes that closes man's earth career, when, leaving all the gathered wealth of lands and goods, he goes out into the dark alone? Is death the end - annihilation and repose? Or, does he awake in some other sphere or condition, retaining individuality and identity? Each must solve this great question for himself. Dissolution and change have come to every form of life, and will come to all that live. With opportunity knocking at the door, mankind has but little more appreciation of it now than it had when Phallic-worship swayed the destinies of empires. It may be that, as a people, our development has been such that we could heretofore grasp and comprehend only length, breadth, and thickness, the three accepted dimensions of matter; that in our progression we have but now become able to appreciate and understand life forces that find their expression beyond the physical plane. 5

6 Time was when all knowledge was handed down from one generation to another by story, song, and tradition. When the Persian civilization was growing old, and ambition towered above the lofty walls of Babylon; when Egypt was building her temples on the banks of the Nile; when Greece was the centre of art and culture, and Rome with its wealth and luxuries held sway over the civilized world, people did not dream of type and the printing press, applied electricity, or navigation of the air, and the many inventions that were to come. They were not ready for such progression. The world cannot stand still. The great law of the universe is progress. Two or three generations since, the idea that a cable would one day be laid under the sea and that messages would be transmitted under the waters and over the waters from continent to continent, was laughed at as a chimera. Only a little while ago, the world could not understand how words and sentences could be flashed across the trackless ocean from ship to ship, and from land to land, without wires, in space. And who shall now say that it is not possible to send thoughts, words, sentences, voices even, and messages, out into the ether of the spirit world, there to be heard, recorded, and answered? Has man reached the end of his possibilities; will all progression stop with Marconi's achievements and telephoning without wires? This is the age of man; we have passed the age of gods. If our development is such that we can comprehend the life and conditions following dissolution, it must be within our grasp as surely as progress has been possible at all times and among all people since the world began. Our age is one of sudden and rapid changes. What was true yesterday assumes a different, one could almost say, a diametrically opposite aspect today. Our people are in a state of transition. New views come with changing times and conditions. Most minds are sensitive, alert, and versatile, and the present is fraught with unrest and a thirst for knowledge. This is a period that will be fruitful in scientific discoveries, and in the adaptation of the universal law of vibratory action. We need not be afraid of investigation. All truth is safe; nothing else will suffice, and he who holds back the truth, through expediency or fear, fails in his duty to mankind. Some have come to know what awaits over the great divide, have solved the great problem of dissolution, and with the confidence born of knowledge, based on facts proved and demonstrated, are ready to speak with authority. As one among the many, I again give the world the result of my continued research in the new field of psychic science. We have looked upon the discarded physical body, habitation or housing, occupied by one while developing on the earth plane, and have said: "He is dead; never again will his voice speak words of tenderness, his hands touch, or eyes look upon us, nevermore will we know his tender loving care; he is no more." Such is the most erroneous conclusion ever reached by the human mind. When at night we lay aside our clothing, we ire the same. When at the end of a short span we separate from the flesh garment we have worn, we are not dead. We are identically the same person, mentally, morally, and spiritually as before, with the same etheric body, with power to think and function as in earth-life. I say with all the strength and force at my command that there is continuity of all life; that nothing is ever lost; that communication is possible, and has been had with those in the afterlife in many ways. My effort has been to create a condition in which it became possible for spirit people to clothe with physical substance their organs of respiration, so they could talk to us as when in earth-life. It has been my privilege to hear their voices, best of all methods, hundreds of times. Thousands of individuals have spoken, using their own vocal organs, and I have answered. From this source 6

7 has come great knowledge, facts beyond the learning of men, not found in any books, and it is my privilege to give them to you. Lay aside preconceived notions, discard prejudice, be fair and unafraid, while in simple language, I relate what has come to me from this wonderful source. If you are not impressed with its truth, discard it. If it appeals to reason, it will be a help not only here but hereafter. CHAPTER II A CONSCIOUS DISSOLUTION YES, I know that I am no longer an in habitant of the earth sphere, that I am numbered among the dead; so because I thoroughly understand the great change through which I have passed, the group of spirit people working with you, and controlling conditions on this side, have asked me to speak to you, and through you to all those who sorrow for their dead. You know, of course, that in speaking I am now using my own voice." Out of the silence, out of the darkness, in a room devoted solely to psychic investigation came those words; one whom the world calls dead was speaking. I have never ceased to be startled when a voice first speaks from the invisible world - so unusual, so marvelous, so wonderful, and yet to me so natural. I know of but two psychics who are able to contribute to conditions that make the direct or independent voice possible. Emily S. French, who devoted to my work the best years of her life, was one of them, and on this occasion she was alone with me in the room in my own home devoted solely to such work. At this time the conditions were such that it was possible for those out of the earth body to so talk that their voices were audible. 7

8 The public wants to know, and I had always wanted to know, the sensation involved in the death change, in the awakening; what it is that the eyes behold, or the ears hear when first consciousness continues or returns. So when this man spoke so clearly and strongly, I determined to get from one who had made the change a comprehensive statement of the mental state, not only before but after the transition. "So much," I said, "of the information that we get from the plane where you now live is general in character, won't you be specially specific and tell us, first, something of your occupation and of the conditions immediately preceding your dissolution?" "I came," he replied, "from a long line of soldiers. My ancestors fought in the American Revolution, and were among those who aided in establishing your Republic; possibly I inherited a martial spirit. When the first shot was fired by the Confederates, and Lincoln issued his call for volunteers, I was possessed with a desire to enter the army. I had a wife and two children, to whom as I now know, I owed a far greater duty than to my country, but the speech of people, the danger of the nation, the condition of slavery prevailing in the Southern States, and the preparation for war, incited me. With forced words of good cheer, I left the brave wife and little children, enlisted, and became a soldier of the Union. "I will not take the time to tell you of my life in the army, except to speak of the nights in camp when my thoughts went out to those at home, knowing as I did that funds were slowly diminishing. Ever the idea was dominant that the war would soon be over, then there would be the home coming, and the plans I formed to make compensation for my long absence would come to fruition. But the war did not end as battle after battle was fought with success first on one side, then on the other. I participated in many, seeming to bear a charmed life, for while thousands about me fell, I passed unharmed, and so grew fearless." "Under what circumstances did you meet your end," I asked. "It was at Gettysburg," he replied, "I can see and feel it all again as my mind concentrates on that tragic event. It was the second day of that great fight. I was then a colonel and commanded a regiment in reserve; in front of us the battle roared. Shot and shell filled the air and fell near us, muskets belched forth their fire, the earth seemed to tremble; wounded in great numbers were carried to the rear, and we knew that countless dead lay where they had fallen. We waited, knowing it was only a matter of hours, possibly minutes before the order would come to advance. I looked down the line at blanched faces, we all knew that many would not answer the roll call at night. Still we waited. Suddenly out of the smoke galloped an officer from the general's staff. 'Forward,' came the command. "There was no faltering now that the hour had come. The column moved. Soon shot and shell fell among us, on we went. All was excitement, fear was gone; we had but one desire, and that to kill; such is the lust of battle. I recall but little more. We reached the front and saw the grey line charging up the hill toward us; then, oblivion. I now know that I was shot." "Tell me of returning consciousness and what you saw," I said. "You must remember," the spirit answered, "that these tragic events occurred nearly half a century ago, and that at that time it had not been discovered that there is another life, a plane as material as the one you now inhabit, where life continues. 8

9 I had no conception of a hereafter, for with all my religious teaching I had no idea of what or where the future life might be; nor was I at all sure there was one; so you can imagine how startled I was to awake as from a deep sleep; bewildered I got to my feet, and looking down saw my body among many others upon the ground. This was startling. I made a great effort to collect my thoughts and recall events. Then I remembered the awful battle; still I did not then realize I had been shot. I was apart from, still I seemed in some way, held to the body I had so lately worn. My mental condition was one of terrible unrest. How was it I was alive, had a body and yet separate and apart from the covering I had thought constituted the body. "I tried to think and realize my situation. I looked about; others of the seeming dead moved, seemed to stir. Then many of them stood up, and like me seemed to emerge from their physical bodies, for their old forms still lay upon the field. I looked at other prostrate bodies, examined many; from each something was gone. Going among them again, I found other bodies inhabited, still living as you would say, though wounded and unconscious. "Soon I found myself among thousands in a similar mental state. Not one among them knew just what had happened. I did not know then as I do now, that I always possessed a spirit body composed of a material called Ether, and that the physical body was only the garment it wore while in earth life." "What brought you to the full realization of what had happened?" I asked. "I am coming to that," he said; "While the passing out of the old body was without pain, it is a terrible thing to drive a strong spirit from a healthy body, tear it from its coverings. It is unnatural, and the sensation following readjustment is awful. In a short time I became easier, but I was still bewildered. It was neither night nor day; about us all was gloom, not a ray of light, nor a star. Something like an atmosphere dark and red enveloped us all, and we waited in fear and silence; we seemed to feel one another's thoughts, or to be more correct, hear one another think. No words were spoken. How long we remained in this state I cannot now tell, for we do not measure time as you do. Soon there was a ray of light that grew brighter each moment, and then a great concourse of men and women with kindly faces came, and with comforting words told us not to fear; that we had made the great change; that death so-called only advanced our sphere of life; that we were still living beings, inhabitants now of the first plane beyond the earth; that we would live on forever, and by labor reach a higher mental development; that for us the war was over, we had passed through the valley of death. "I will not attempt to tell you of the sorrow that came with such realization, not for myself, for I soon learned that only through death could we progress, and that the personal advantages beyond the physical were greater than those in the physical; it was sorrow for the wife and the babies; their great grief when they learned what had happened, bound me to their condition, and we sorrowed together. I could not progress or find happiness until time had healed their sorrow. If only those in earth life knew that their sadness binds and holds us, stays our progress and development! After coming with the aid of many friends to full consciousness, and being able to move at will, I followed at first the movements of both armies. I saw the route of Lee's army, the final surrender at Appomattox, and I want to tell you of the great effort the inhabitants of this land in which I live put forth, not only to prevent war, but to bring peace when nations or people are at war, for war has never been right. No taking of human life is ever justifiable. 9

10 "This is the first time it has been my personal privilege to get a message through to the world I once inhabited. It has been a great pleasure to tell you something of the sensations during and after the change. There is one experience that I want to relate, for it made a profound impression. One day I saw many people passing into a building having the appearance of a great Temple of Music. I was told I could go in if I desired - I did. There were assembled, I should judge, five thousand people. They sat with bowed heads in a silence, so absolute that I marveled; turning I asked one beside me the object of the meeting, and I was told they were concentrating their thoughts, sending out peace vibrations to nations at war. I did not comprehend, but, curious, I waited. Soon above that great company arose a golden cloud that formed and moved as if directed. Having learned that I could go at will, I followed and found the cloudy substance enveloping another battle field. Again a dark condition with flashes of red, immediately surrounding and above two great armies, for the thoughts of those in battle give out emanations producing such effect. It had substantially the same appearance that prevailed on my awakening. As I watched, the dark condition seemed to change, to dissolve before the peaceful conditions of the light that I had followed, just as mist dissolves before the sun. With the change a better thought filled the minds of those engaged, an inclination to treat more humanly the wounded and the prisoners. This is one of the ways those experienced among us help the mental, as those among you aid the physical; both are equally real. "Among us are the great who counsel together and work to influence those in authority against war, while others among us by thought suggestions help and sustain those poor soldiers forced into battle, either to satisfy the greed, selfishness, and ambition of those in authority, or to defend a nation or the integrity of their country. We know neither the one side nor the other. We see only the suffering of humanity, a mother's mourning, a wife's heart breaking, a child's sobbing. They are all human, and without distinction or class we labor to comfort and help them by mental suggestion. In such work we enter their homes, a great invisible host, and many a heart has been cheered through our ministrations. Other wars will come, unless the thought of those now in authority changes; then a great work will be required of us, for which we are ready." "This has been exceedingly interesting, but just one word more. How does your earth-life appear, after so many years?" I asked. "How much do you remember of those first years, when as an infant you gazed upon your world?" the man replied. "So it is with me. I have but an indistinct recollection of the events that made up my earth-life, only a memory remains, still enough to make me regret many lost opportunities. I was not then a thinker, only a drifter; I accepted what was told me without question; the result was that I did not develop my mental faculties. This life offers such splendid advantages, my joy of living in the present is so intense, that I seldom think of the earth-life at all. All the trials, sorrows, and sufferings incident to birth and the few years in your physical world, were necessary, and from my present vantage ground the matter of living a few years more or less, the manner of my going were unimportant; it is all forgotten now in the wonderful reality about me. As soon as I came to understand what death was and to what it led, I immediately commenced to complete my education, and build a home for the wife and children, and I am happy to tell you that again we dwell together, for they are all here in this land of happiness and opportunity." 10

11 In the presence of such an experience, listening to an individual speaking from the world beyond, telling of another, an unknown land, where all the so-called dead live, think, move, develop, and progress, the learned should understand and comprehend that three dimensions and five senses do not explain the conditions beyond, "The Spring blew trumpets of color; Her Green sang in my brain. I saw a blind man groping 'Tap-tap' with his cane; I pitied him his blindness; But can I boast 'I see'?; Perhaps there walks a spirit Close by, who pities me, A spirit who hears me tapping The five-sensed cane of the mind, Amid such unknown glories I may be worse than blind." CHAPTER III SPEECH WITH THE DEAD Twas in the year 1892 that I met Emily S. French. She was a woman then over 60 years of age, in delicate health, and very deaf. While she was conscious that she possessed powers out of the ordinary, she had little more comprehension than I of that into which the force would develop. At the suggestion of a number of prominent citizens, I was asked to meet Mrs. French and explain, if I could, the unusual phenomena obtainable. In one of our early investigations we sat in a dark room, three of us forming a half circle, she facing us. After a time, seeming whispers were faintly heard, and the gentleman sitting with me insisted that he recognized his wife's voice. It was unsatisfactory to me, but I was interested and immediately made an investigation of the character of the psychic. Finding her of good family and of more than ordinary education, I determined to know how the phenomenon was produced. Of course, at that time I could not comprehend the direct voice, nor the possibility of speech with the so-called dead. I was then agnostic. As I look over the situation now, I see that I had neither the experience nor the ability to appreciate the facts, any 11

12 more than the average reader of this book can comprehend some of the statements made in it. I had to learn, first, that the afterlife is etheric, and that people take into the afterlife the same spirit body which they had in this life divested of the outer flesh garment. In those days I did not know that we have etheric bodies. I found in the beginning that Mrs. French stood very much in awe of the play of this psychic force. One always fears things which he does not understand, and not understanding the unusual phenomena present, she was often very much afraid. I investigated far enough to find that she was possessed of a vital force unknown to me. She was just as much in the dark regarding it as I, and just as much interested. Accordingly she undertook to join me in an investigation, to devote her time without money and without price to the mastery of that force in the hope that good might come. Out of that compact came over twenty years of continued work, and experiences which to me seem worthy of record. It has been said that we have but five senses. That is to say, the average individual has but five senses developed; some persons, however, have seven. To the five accepted senses I add "psychic sight" and "psychic hearing." Mrs. French possessed both of those. At times she could see people moving in the afterlife, not with her physical eye, of course, but by means of psychic sight. She could perceive them so acutely that they were just as real to her as if an impression came upon the retina. This is true, because she could see and describe these people in the dark just as well as in the light. Again, she had psychic hearing, for I have been able on many occasions in the broad daylight to carry on conversations with persons out of the body (she repeating their words) as satisfactorily as if they were still in their physical bodies, and in such talks I have gone frequently far beyond the knowledge of the psychic. In the beginning spirit speech was faint from the sphere beyond. I was able to get in touch with only a very ordinary class of spirit people, and I often became impatient that those I most desired did not come. I did not then understand as I now do my own limitations, for now I know that instruction was being given me as fast as I could grasp it. When a new fact was stated, the law and the conditions making such fact possible were explained. The first propositions were very simple, but as the years rolled by, we made great progress. We learned how to form the required environment; there was a whisper and then a voice; then the voice took tone and individuality. In course of time those of the group with whom I was accustomed to have speech were easily recognized. There was one person in particular with whom from the very first time I worked with Mrs. French I was desirous of talking. This was my mother who left this life in Time went on, and she did not come. Finally she requested me to meet with Mrs. French under the necessary conditions on May 26, 1896, saying that she would come and go over many things in which we were mutually interested. About ten o'clock on the appointed morning the Brown Building in Buffalo, then being repaired, collapsed. The street was full of rumors that many people had been killed. The number was put, I think, at six or seven. Of course, there was no way of ascertaining the truth until the debris could be removed and this would require many days. Mrs. French and I were scarcely seated that evening when my mother greeted me in her own direct voice, and said with great regret that owing to the accident that morning she must forego the pleasure of our visit until a later time, we could be of great help to those whose lives had been crushed out; they needed assistance. Of course, I readily acquiesced in the 12

13 suggestion. There was perhaps ten minutes of silence; then a voice, choking and coughing, broke the stillness and cried, "My God, the building is falling, the building is falling. This way, this way." The situation was tense and startling. I half rose to my feet. Another voice answered in a strange tongue. The words were not distinguishable, but it seemed to me as if some one was responding to the first call, which was followed in a moment by a woman's voice crying out in great fear, "We will all be killed! Help me, help me." This was the beginning of what we term our mission work, that is, helping to restore consciousness to those who in leaving the old body are not readily able to regain that condition. There was then, aiding in this work, as I have since learned, a group of seven spirit co-workers who had brought to us these unfortunate people whose spirit-bodies had been crushed out in the fall of this building. We were to restore them to a normal mental condition, and acting upon the suggestion of the spirit coworkers I quietly talked with them. After a time I told them what had occurred and brought them to a realization of their situation. Eventually they came to understand that in the fall of that building their spirits had been forced from their physical bodies, and when they came to realize that in the catastrophe they had gone out of earth-life, their sorrow was beyond words. One told me on that evening that four people, namely: William P. Straub, George Metz, Michael Schurzke, a Pole, and Jennie M. Griffin, a woman, had lost their lives in the fall of the building. This was verified some days later. After talking with me, voice to voice, they realized that they had gone through the change called death. Then their friends in the afterlife came, were recognized, and took them and gave them such consolation as was possible under the unfortunate circumstances. I asked the leader of the spirit group how it was that the voices when first heard seemed so strained, and speech so broken, why there was so much choking. He replied that a person, crushed out of the physical body suddenly, finishes as soon as consciousness and the mental condition are restored, sentences left unuttered when dissolution came; that in the awakening he takes on the identical state in which he passed out. After they had gone Mrs. French said: "I see behind you a man probably fifty-five or more years old, strong character I should judge, who has been listening to this conversation. He is looking at you with amazement. He does not seem to understand." I said to her, "Does he know me?" She replied, "He answers, 'Yes'." "Does he give his name?" "No, not yet." Of course, being in absolute darkness and not possessing psychic sight or psychic hearing, I could neither see nor hear him, but I asked, "Did he reside in Buffalo?" She answered, "No." I then inquired concerning other localities, and named residents of a city where I had lived for some years, asking, "Was he a resident of that city?" and Mrs. French replied saying: "He says that he lived there." 13

14 Then I repeated the names of many of my acquaintances, trying to identify the individual who was then present, with an idea that I might have speech with him. Finally Mrs. French said: "I see the letters H. G. B." I quickly recalled the individual described and spoke his name. He had been a leading citizen of a neighboring city, a large manufacturer. I recalled many evenings spent at his house with his family, and particularly did I recall his voice. On Sunday evenings he enjoyed the gathering of young people, and at such times there was often singing of popular songs, and many of the old hymns. His voice was unusual, deep, resonant, and he sang very well. It was a voice which, having once been heard, could never be mistaken. He had been out of the body then about five years. After a little time he moved around apparently to the side of Mrs. French, and greeted me. That deep masculine voice would have been recognized if he had not given his name; there was no mistake. He spoke my name as familiarly as he ever did in earth life, and I greeted him as cordially as I ever had in his home. I had believed that this man had led an exemplary life, for this was the general impression which prevailed in the community where he resided, and I thought he, of all men, would find the best conditions after dissolution. However, he did not yet realize that he had separated from his physical body. He knew some great change had taken place, but he had absolutely no conception of what it was, although five years had elapsed since it occurred. He told me that his wife and children no longer recognized him in his own home, that he spoke to them, that he called to them, that he got on his knees and shrieked their names, but he could not apparently touch them, he could not make them realize his presence; they passed him apathetically. His inability to make himself known in the home where he had always been the dominant personality, the indifference with which he was treated not only by his own family but by others with whom he came in contact, had driven him nearly to desperation. He could not understand the situation at all, and he was fearful that he was verging on insanity, if not completely insane. All was darkness about him, all things were unnatural, and he had become frantic. It was a delicate task to bring this man to a realization of the great change that had taken place, because his present condition was so intensely real. He was the same man, he had the same intellect, the same personality, apparently the same body. Why should he be ignored and overlooked by all whom he had known? It was only after many explanations that he came to a realizing sense that he had left the physical world of men. Having in mind the exemplary life which he had led, I told him that I could not understand why he should find himself in such a mental state, and he replied that he had not lived the life for which he had been given credit. A member of the spirit group present said: "The wrong done in earth-life binds him to the earth condition. While he has left his physical body, he has not left the earth and its environment, and having no knowledge of the great beyond to which he has journeyed, he has never progressed beyond the earth plane where he formerly lived, and he cannot comprehend while in that mental state the change that has come to him." It appeared that he had never left his home, and the narrow environment about it, but in a half awakened, half conscious state had wandered from one to another until by good fortune he had been told that if he would attend upon our work, he would understand the change that had 14

15 come into his life. With this unusual experience we said "Good Night" to our group of coworkers, and I walked homeward in deep thought. What shall be said of our civilization that teaches nothing of the conditions prevailing in the afterlife? CHAPTER IV TOLD IN THE afterlife IF there is one thing this world ought to know, does not know, and wants to know, it is the process in which and by which an inhabitant of this plane of consciousness leaves the physical body to become an inhabitant of the next or etheric plane. I speak of the earth and the etheric plane, of a here, and a hereafter that I may be understood, but technically this, the next, and all planes of existence are one, differing only in vibratory activity, or modes of motion. The Universe is all a part of one stupendous whole. Only one who has made the great change, can adequately describe conditions under which people live in the sphere beyond. For many years I have been exchanging with other psychic scientists reports of conditions and lectures from this source. T. W. Stanford of Australia sent me a communication from the afterlife received by him, which my group say is a statement of fact, and, therefore, with his permission I quote it as follows: 15

16 "In my weakness I became unconscious of all around; but soon I became conscious of several things. I realized that something that had held me down and fatally gripped me was gone. I was free, and in the place of weakness and pain and sickness, I had a virility and a vigor which I had never known upon the earth plane. I was also aware that I was in new surroundings, most beautiful. Then I became conscious that I was in the midst of a company of fellow souls, whose voices were filled with happiness, all welcoming me, and others whom I had temporarily lost while upon the earth plane. I then knew that some great change had occurred which had taken from me everything that I had desired to get rid of, or some power, had given to me a delightful experience, which I had often in a measure imagined, but dared scarcely believe that it could be possible. Surrounded by an innumerable company, I was quite dazzled with the appearance of some who, it was explained to me, were exalted personages. Then there approached one who seemed to be the chief speaker. He said before me was the universe, that time was for me no more, that I was henceforth an inhabitant of a new country. You will ask me - was it all pleasant? Extremely so. How can I illustrate it so that you will understand? Have you ever after taking a long journey become extremely tired and weary, and, at last, at the end of much striving and traveling, come to a house of rest? How you sank down upon the downy couch. Oh, the delight of it! With no dreams to disturb your rest, you awoke like a giant refreshed! To me it was something like that; although even that is a weak illustration. But that which brought me greatest happiness was the knowledge that I had gained what I had once believed I had lost. I had health, strength, vitality, friends, and relatives restored to me for evermore. I have always been fond of the beautiful. I have spent days, weeks, and months in the picture galleries of Europe, looking at the work of the old masters. Many of them lived hundreds of years before I came upon the earth plane, and yet I seemed to have known them all the days of my life. I have dreamed about them. Da Vinci had always been my companion, Murillo a choice comrade; for Giotto I had a deep, lasting friendship. I loved the beautiful in all its forms. I loved Nature - the beautiful lakes of Italy and Switzerland, the glorious mountains, the everlasting hills. My friends in spirit life said to me, "come and see the House Beautiful." Try and understand, if you can, that not only are the landscapes spiritual, but so is the beauty of all that there is on the other side of life. The physical is only the gross imitation of the spiritual. There is no tongue which can describe the beauty of the spiritual realms, wherein are the souls of those who have just entered on their progressive existence - souls who have striven to do their best according to their light. I say that there is no tongue that can describe the beauties of that land. Take the best that you have, and it is poor in comparison. Then I came next to the spiritual houses, and there I met with more friends, more relatives, and, greater, grander still, with those royal souls who had been my affinities on earth - been companions, comrades of the brush and palette, and others whom I had deeply reverenced in my soul. But I found them much greater, grander, nobler than they ever were in their earth life, and I was privileged to be one of their companions. Still I pressed onward. I came next to a Rest House. That will sound peculiar. You will say, how can you have rest houses, if you don't know what it is to be weary? No, there is no weariness like that you have experienced on earth; but there are rest houses, where in the spiritual life we may rest and have delightful intercourse with our friends. In the spiritual rest houses, therefore, we entered, and found there relatives and friends. Some were not upon the same plane of existence as I was, but they had been permitted to come down to my sphere to meet me, so that in effect I could say, "He that was dead is alive again, he that was lost for a time is found." And then memory - think of 16

17 the joy of memory! I had carried personality and memory into the spirit world, and I compared the existence in Rome with that which I was then enjoying. I tell you that it was the expectancy of what was still to be which gave me the greatest pleasure and the greatest joy. There is no joy on earth like that which is in Heaven, for it is unalloyed. I became conscious that I had to do something, and that I should have to work, and it was a joy. Could I be a messenger? I thought of some on the earth plane I had loved so dearly, and remembered that they were in spiritual darkness. I inquired,- Where is the Heaven of orthodoxy? "It does not exist," was the answer. Where is the purgatory of which I have been told so often? "It does not exist." But my friends were in darkness, and a yearning came that I might go to them and tell them what I knew. I wanted to say, "Do not be mistaken; there is something better, brighter, grander, nobler for human souls than has been taught you. I was told that I could return, and became conscious that I could communicate with those still on earth if I found a certain channel, an avenue, an instrument. How could I find it? "All things are yours," is the promise. Therefore I must find the way and the instrument. This I did, and you have helped me. That is the work which I am doing, and it gives me increased happiness. I was told that there were greater beauties of the spiritual landscape which I had not yet seen, and which I could not yet understand, because the universe is illimitable. There is something overpoweringly grand in the thought that you are not cramped or shut up in a small space of a few millions of miles. No, this universe is vast, and the field is mine to explore. It became mine by right. I had worked for it, and I had yet to work for it. Take special note of that. I was to work and earn the right to explore God's dominions, and get happiness from every place, state, and condition of my spiritual existence. Do you like grand architecture: From what source do you think that the old Greeks got their first designs? Phidias and Praxiteles were, no doubt, the greatest of Greek sculptors. There were wonderful architects in those days. When I was upon the earth plane, I made a nine months' tour of Greece, Rome, and Sicily to make a study of the architecture of the ancients. I visited every temple, whether in ruins or in perfect order, and I tell you they are heaps of stones, they are utterly beneath contempt compared with the spiritual architecture of the homes and houses in the spirit world. If you have a spiritual body, there is no reason why you should not have a spiritual house. Get rid of the idea that you are a puff of wind in the life hereafter. Even wind may be solidified, for wind is atmosphere in motion, and it is possible to solidify the atmosphere. Then I came to the inhabitants of that spirit world. I had never previously believed or dreamed that these could exist in such beautiful forms. To most people, beauty of form is a source of joy and comfort. The Greeks and the Romans loved beauty of form, and I know that you do likewise. I saw the most exquisite forms as I progressed, and every day, to use language which you will understand, I met with some that I had previously known upon the earth-plane, and what words can tell the joy of it? To some of them I had done little acts of kindness. And let me impress upon you that of all the pleasure I have received on the spirit side of life, the most came from those to whom I had previously done some act of kindness. If I had my earth life again, I would spend every hour in doing good - I would spend my life in doing acts of kindness. In our spiritual rest houses we frequently meet, not only with loved ones, but with those whom we reverenced and adored. We make also new acquaintances. We get a knowledge of great and grand souls, and come in contact with them. After a time, I was appointed by an Intelligence to do a certain work. I was to help others to see the light, and I had permission to 17

18 come back to the earth again. Then my instructor said, "That which will give you the greatest pleasure, do." Then I came back. I have met with many great and noble characters, who lived upon the earth plane. I am frequently in the companionship of those whom I loved, and I have never yet found cause for offence, and never will. No one has entered into my surroundings who has caused me a moment of sadness. On the earth-plane even your best moments are clouded because some one in your midst was objectionable to you; but each one on the spirit side has gravitated to a certain spiritual level. If he be good, then his spiritual status is good, his affinities will be good, and those who come in immediate contact with him will be good also. There will be no one to offend. So vast are the realms or dominions of Nature that in the few years I have been on the spirit side of life, I have been able to explore but little. When I have been upon the etheric plane for some billions of years I shall perhaps have seen a little of it. But throughout the countless ages of eternity I shall be evolving, developing, getting knowledge and light and wisdom. I shall become in tune with the Infinite. What there is beyond I do not yet know. Even on our side of life we are not given more knowledge than we can make use of for the time being. It is all a matter of progression. I have told you that we all have to work. There are no drones. But it is work that is congenial and satisfactory; it is a labor of love. It is appointed by a Higher Intelligence; it is given to you to do; and if you do it, your progress and happiness are assured. Realize that there is no coercion on the spirit side of life, but the spiritual eyes are opened to their responsibility. They see everything at a glance. In the spirit side of life you are not left in any doubt. You have full knowledge that to obey is better than to sacrifice, and to do the will of God is to bring happiness in your progressive existence, throughout eternity. Mothers have had their children taken away by death, and the bereaved ones say, "We have lost our children." You have not lost them. They may have been lost from vision for a while. Perhaps there are some here tonight who laid to rest in cold earth a little form, a sweet child. I do not seek to stir up your feelings, but you remember how the burning tears came to your eyes; you rebelled in your soul when a child was taken away. There was an aching void in your heart and you murmured. That life was only taken and planted in another garden, and when you get on the other side, you will know your child. But not as a babe, for all grow to full spiritual stature, radiant, glorious in immortality, with soul filled with love for you, nevermore to part. Is it not worth striving for? There is no condemnation to those who are good, those who are living the life, those who are seeking to do that which is right. Let me tell you, that the time is coming when all earth problems, religions, and theology, will pass away. Men are tired of such discussions. They are sick in their soul of being told to trust in another; they cannot fathom the scheme or plan of salvation, but they do know that around about them is a world of misery, of unhappiness, of shortcomings. It is only the true spiritual philosophy which teaches man to rely upon himself and become his own savior by being true to himself. There is no religion higher than truth. To serve God he must serve man. That pleases the Father and continues eternally. We must become servants of each other." 18

19 CHAPTER V THE LIFE MASS I HAVE thought a little and labored long to comprehend the economy of Nature. I have found life everywhere, in trees and flowers and growing grains, in rapid brooks, and lazy streams, in the wind sweeping over the hills, and at rest in lonely places, in the majesty and glory of the dawn as the sun climbs the eastern sky, in the glow of evening and in the purple solitude of night. I see life seeking better expression and individual growth in every birth, and rocked in every cradle. I see Nature working out its destiny, reproducing, increasing, and developing; and in such a presence I know that nothing, not even death itself, can diminish or stop the eternal progress of a single life, all a part of one stupendous whole. We speak of inert matter, but there is no such thing in the Universe. Matter, the expression and language of which we do not understand, we term inert, - an error caused by our lack of knowledge. Nothing dead exists. We have little knowledge of the very small, and know 19

20 nothing of the world of life forms invisible to the human eye, - how they live, what they do, or how they communicate with one another. There is a query in science as to whether every living thing is capable of thinking, and I am free to say that, in my judgment, wherever there is life, there must be thinking. I care not whether science accept or reject the theory; there is the power of intelligent action in every seed that has a living germ. The acorn has sense enough to send its rootlets into the earth, and its trunk and foliage branch up into the air, and select just such elements as will make the oak tree, and reject such as would be proper only for the beech tree. And the grass has the same kind of intelligence in choosing proper nourishment for itself; and the power of choice must involve the power of thought. Science is on the material and rudimental plane yet, and has much to ascertain. Speaking of the life mass, one in the next life has said: "The basis of all matter is electricity; the basis of all electricity, for there are many kinds, is ether, - not that ether which is found in the atmosphere, but a subtle ether of which men know little or nothing. The basis of this subtle ether is spirit; therefore, all that there is of whirling planets, of brilliant constellations, suns, moons, and satellites, all that there is in the physical Universe is ether clothed, in reality but an expression of spirit. It is the physical in and through which spirit functions, and in that way makes itself manifest to the external sense. When we once realize how infinitely great is the universe, how wondrous, how terrible, yet how beautiful in its simplicity, a feeling not exactly of awe, but of benign thankfulness must rise in our hearts at the knowledge that we are part of that stupendous system. "Until the discovery of lenses and magnifying glasses, man had no idea of the world around him. He could not scan the heavens by night, nor did he know anything of the world in a drop of water or in the ice gem. He knew nothing of atoms, nor of micro-organisms. "If one is interested in geology - in the various rocks in the strata of the earth - let him take the hardest of these rocks - basalt-and in the basaltic rocks he will find a world of life. If he gets far away in the polar seas at the extremes of the earth, he will there find life also. Thousands of fathoms down in the bed of the ocean there is life. In everything throughout the Universe life is found, and the germs of life are no less in the fire mists! Think of the specks of protoplasm floating in the water. Look at them-examine them with a microscope. Then realize that at last, a long way off it is true, those specks of protoplasm develop into a Shakespeare or a Dante, Thomas Paine or an Ingersoll. Nature is very wonderful! "The atmosphere that you are breathing tonight contains organisms. You cannot see them with the naked eye, and even the most powerful lenses would fail to disclose some of them to you. There are microbes floating in the atmosphere, some of which produce disease. Most of them are unimportant. But apart from the germs, there are floating throughout this atmosphere, life forms which man may never be able to discover with any instrument that he may invent in the future. Near to Mount Vesuvius there are a few pools or small lakes, which the internal fires round about make very hot. If tonight I could take one drop from those pools and subject it to a close, rigid scrutiny by means of a more powerful glass than exists, we should find that in one drop of this hot water there is a world. We should find life there evolving and progressing towards perfection. Again, we should find in that drop of water, or it might be in a speck of 20

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God is Worthy of Our Praise Psalm 145: 1-10 This morning we have read from David s Psalm of praise. Some theologians consider this to be his favorite Psalm of praise. There are many others that lift praise

A Letter to Awakening Humans A Letter to Awakening Humans And so it is, dear friends, we have heard your call. We have heard your prayers, we have felt your pain, and we know your confusion. That is why

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ Chapter 44 Looking forward to the Savior s Second Coming Forty days after His Resurrection, Jesus and His Apostles were gathered together on the Mount of Olives. The time

4. THE SUBSTANCE OF FAITH Among Christians around the world today there is much talk about faith. Many preachers consistently expound on this one topic. Others have written entire books on the subject.

Explanatory Notes: WILL WE BE MARRIED IN THE LIFE AFTER DEATH? Series title: Topic: Marriage in heaven / heaven as a marriage Table of Contents: Message 1: What is the Life after Death Like? p. 1 Message

Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, November 3,2013 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Accountable To God I Corinthians 3:9-15 (NKJV) Please turn with

A Gathering of Brothers Prayer Service Opening Prayer God, you who make all things new in Jesus and who calls us to Brotherhood, give us, we pray, a greater awareness of your love for all people, and a

Funeral Service I *The ceremonies or tributes of social or fraternal societies have no place within the service. Baptized Christians should be buried from the Church. We begin in the name of the Father

The Muslim taxi driver was talkative that day as he picked me up from our house at the Virginia Theological Seminary. First, he marveled at the flock of birds across the field. Then he said with authority,

Poems for Memorial or Tribute Miss Me But Let Me Go Miss me but let me go When I come to the end of the road And the sun has set for me I want no rites in a gloom filled room Why cry for a soul set free?

BOOK 3, PART I, LESSON 4 A PRAYER IN THE GARDEN THE BIBLE: Luke 22:39-53, Mark 14:32-50 THEME: We remember that Jesus taught about love and showed love in everything he did. During Lent and Easter we remember

Fry Instant Phrases The words in these phrases come from Dr. Edward Fry s Instant Word List (High Frequency Words). According to Fry, the first 300 words in the list represent about 67% of all the words

: Part #2: His Miracles Page 1 During the three years that Jesus traveled, taught and helped people, He did many miracles. Some of them showed that He had power over disease and death (D). Sometimes what

Life Without You I am invoking my right to remain silent in the face of life, All of my words have escaped from dictionaries, There is only one Word that I must say before Angel of Death is You. I am a

Seven Prayers for the Church 1 Prayer for Sunday: that God would grant deep unity to the church in DFW John 17:20-23: My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through

MARY PONDERS, DO WE? The Word of God on this Christmas Day is Luke 2:19 which reads: And Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. So far the text. The glory of God has been revealed,

CRAZY BEAUTIFUL LIFE (Callaghan/ Matkosky) Here we are You and me and we got nothing to do It's a perfect day, shining all around us The sky's never been so blue Here we go, walking on sunshine Every step,

A VISITOR FROM HEAVEN by Twila Paris A visitor from heaven If only for awhile A gift of love to be returned We think of you and smile A visitor from heaven Accompanied by grace Reminding of a better time

By: Dov Avnon It is important to know what does it mean to work out your salvation. Remember it is Paul who writing it to the members of the body of Christ in this dispensation of Grace. Paul is not talking

Devotion NT270 CHILDREN S DEVOTIONS FOR THE WEEK OF: LESSON TITLE: The Master Becomes a Servant THEME: Jesus wants us to serve one another. SCRIPTURE: John 13:1-17 Dear Parents Welcome to Bible Time for

Brisbane Christian Fellowship Current List of Choruses (Where first lines differ from the song title, the first line is shown in italics.) CHORUS REPERTOIRE A A New Way (Keep me Lord Jesus) Abounding in

PERSONALITY STYLES ASSESSMENT Each of us has a dominant personality style that reflects our individual values and principles and affects our relationship with others. There are four basic personality styles

The Funeral Service Pastoral Introduction This may be read silently by those present before the service begins. God s love and power extend over all creation. Every life, including our own, is precious

The Story of My Life Helen Keller Part I. The Story of My Life Chapter IV The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, came to me. I am filled

All Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION NIV.. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

A Lincoln Portrait: Celebrating the Life of Abraham Lincoln This is America The statue of President Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC From VOA Learning English, welcome to This is

Psalm 128: The Worshiper s Blessings Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways. You will eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful

BREWS AND HYMNS SET 5/01/16 1. I Saw the Light 2. 10,000 Reasons 3. Great Is Thy Faithfulness 4. All Creatures of our God and King 5. Amazing Grace 6. Tis So Sweet To Trust in Jesus 7. Great are You Lord

Devotion NT320 CHILDREN S DEVOTIONS FOR THE WEEK OF: LESSON TITLE: The Gift of Love THEME: God desires for us to demonstrate His love! SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Dear Parents Welcome to Bible Time

Page 1 Table of Content The Psychic Lotto Formula Jackpot to Success System... 4 Part 1 Channeling the Power of Your Mind to Success... 6 Part 2 Visualization... 12 Part 3 Integrating Luck and Making it

Easter Everyday - Week 4 Day 1 - God Is Greater 1 John 3:19-24 (NLV) 19 This is how we know we are Christians. It will give our heart comfort for sure when we stand before Him. 20 Our heart may say that

God Expressing Himself If you want to express yourself (open your thoughts and feelings for others to know you) how do you do it? By writing? By speaking? By drawing or painting? By making a 3 dimensional

Speaker Title : Senior Pastor Prince Guneratnam : Glorify God on the Earth Introduction: Assignment and Anointing When God assigns a responsibility, He also anoints for the assignment The anointing gives

The Healing Rosary Jesus healed many people of physical, emotional, and spiritual afflictions during his short time on earth. In writing this Healing Rosary, the stories that I found most touching were

Devotion NT267 CHILDREN S DEVOTIONS FOR THE WEEK OF: LESSON TITLE: The Second Coming THEME: Jesus is coming again. SCRIPTURE: Matthew 24:27-31 Dear Parents Welcome to Bible Time for Kids. Bible Time for

On-Line AA Skype Meetings Format [This is our suggested format for the on-line Skype meetings. We are fortunate to have this option and many of us find talking on-line is the next best thing to in-person

Sunday School/ Small Group Lessons Soul-Winning Commitment Day Purpose of Lesson: This guide is for the purpose of preparing older children through adult Sunday school members to understand the importance

The Common Denominator of Success by Albert E.N. Gray The common denominator of success --- the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful --- lies in the fact that he formed the habit

SECRET LOVE Wonderful Illusion Waiting for the moment to be right All I m asking for is a ray of light Wait and see Somewhere down the road You never know I don t wanna say goodbye It s hard to leave this

Sermon 2007 Ascension Text: Luke 24:44-53 Theme: Power As we come to the day of the Ascension we celebrate the second to the last key transition in the ministry of our Lord, Jesus Christ: his birth, his

Lesson 2: God s Plan for Your Life Intro When old, many people look back at their lives and soberingly ask: That was it? To ask that question at the end of a lifetime is a great tragedy! When you choose

http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 Christ Rejected by His Own People John 12:37-50 http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 2 Text: John 12:37-50, Christ Rejected by His Own People 37. But though he had done

Sharing the Plan of Salvation with Children By Cheryl Markland Font: Whiz Bang For more information contact: Childhood Ministry Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (800) 395-5102 ext. 5646 Sharing

0 3 Months Your baby was born relationship ready and in her first three months of life is actively trying to make sense of her world. Before she can even speak, your baby is communicating with her facial